Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Glenn bows out of Denver debate

After an August 28 story in The Denver Post about Darryl Glenn's "failure to launch" his candidacy for U.S. Senate, Glenn has refused to participate in the Post's and Denver 7' s Senate debate, according to the Colorado Democratic Party and the Post.

He is willing to debate Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet at a Club 20-sponsored event in Grand Junction slated for Saturday, however.

Bennet has what theDenver Business Journal called last month "a commanding lead" in the polls. Bennet's fundraising also far surpasses Glenn's — by millions of dollars.

Glenn, an El Paso County commissioner, ran into a controversy in July when it was revealed that he was arrested for third-degree assault for striking his father at a bar in Colorado Springs when he was 18 years old, according to court documents. His dad, the late Ernest Glenn, also was charged. All charges later were dropped, and Glenn attended and graduated from the Air Force Academy.

Glenn at first denied he was charged and said he couldn't remember such an incident. He later said he grew up in a violent family and did recall the fight with help from his mom.

Here's the Colorado Dems news release:

Denver, Colorado - On Monday, the Denver Post reported that Glenn will NOT participate in a proposed debate hosted by Denver Post/Denver7, two of the largest and most respected news organizations in the state.

The Denver Post has hosted a Senate debate featuring the major party nominees going back for the better part of two decades, at least. Glenn is the first candidate from either party to refuse the Post debate since at least 2002.

"Perhaps Darryl Glenn is finally realizing that his extreme policies won't resonate with Colorado voters, but by refusing to attend the Denver Post/Denver7 debate, he is depriving Coloradans an important opportunity to hear from the two candidates," said Chris Meagher, spokesman for the Colorado Democratic Party.